Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 607,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 109,457 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.76% of Banner worth $30,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Banner in the fourth quarter valued at $12,097,000. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its holdings in shares of Banner by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 36,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,961,000 after purchasing an additional 7,020 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its position in shares of Banner by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 9,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Banner by 2,700.2% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 221,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,861,000 after buying an additional 213,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Banner by 32.5% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 57,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,080,000 after buying an additional 14,097 shares during the period. 87.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banner Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BANR opened at $59.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $57.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.07. Banner Co. has a 1-year low of $39.31 and a 1-year high of $61.77.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $149.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.66 million. Banner had a net margin of 20.93% and a return on equity of 10.89%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Banner Co. will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BANR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded Banner from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Banner from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

About Banner

Banner Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Banner Bank that engages in the provision of commercial banking and financial products and services to individuals, businesses, and public sector entities in the United States. It accepts various deposit instruments, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, regular savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as treasury management services and retirement savings plans.